Title

Author

Term of Award

Degree Name

Master of Technology

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Committee Chair

Earl R. Andrews

Committee Member 1

Illegible

Committee Member 2

Illegible

Abstract

For years, customer service was known as a complaint department for retail stores. Customers would often call or write to customer service to complain about poor service, defective merchandise or problems with their bills. Today, customer service is not only evident in the retail industry but is also a vital function in the printing industry as well as other industries. Although the customer service function in the printing industry handles complaints, it also handles many other important areas relating to marketing, production, sales and so on. Many customer service employees answer questions about where a printing job is and when it will be ready. The customer service employee also works with employees within the company to ensure on-time delivery of the product.

Because the customer service employees have so much contact with people such as customers and other employees within the company, their main role is to communicate with other departments of the organization in addition to the customer. This liaison between the customer and the company or organization requires that the customer service employee be an effective communicator. This characteristic of customer service presents the need for training in oral and written communication skills as well as interpersonal skills.

The problem of the study is to research the need for, and the content of a customer service training program that will help train the entry-level employee in a customer service position in the printing industry.